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Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born to Sara and James Roosevelt.
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FDR entered Harvard in the fall of 1900. He took many SS classes (economics, history, government) and was involved in the school newspaper. His father also died in December. -
Was engaged to Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (called Eleanor), his fifth cousin once removed (also Theodore Roosevelt's niece). -
Entered Columbia Law School. He would gain many absences and even fail two classes due to his honeymoon.
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Married Eleanor on St. Patrick's Day.
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Their first child Anna was born. They would go on to have six children. -
Dropped out of Columbia after passing the New York Bar Examination. He started working at the Carter, Ledyard and Milburn law firm. His second child James was also born.
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Partly due to Democratic success in the 1910 Congress elections, FDR was elected to the New York Senate. He would lead an opposition to the Tammany Hall political machine in the 1911 Senate elections.
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FDR was appointed as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy as a reward for supporting Woodrow Wilson as the 1912 Democratic Presidential nominee. -
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Began an extramarital affair with Lucy Mercer, Eleanor's social secretary. Eleanor's discovery of the affair in 1918 would permanently strain her relationship with FDR. -
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1920 Democratic Presidential nominee James Cox chose FDR as his running mate. They were defeated by Republicans Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge
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Contracted poliomyelitis; although he recovered, he was permanently paralyzed from the waist down. -
Became VP of the Fidelity and Deposit Company trust company
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Started a law firm called Roosevelt & O'Connor.
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Bought property in Georgia that contained mineral springs with supposed healing properties; turned the property into a care center for polio victims -
Was elected as the governor of New York by a very narrow margin.
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Was reelected as NY governor; was one of the first politicians to realize the severity of the Great Depression
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Due to federal inaction, FDR summoned the NY legislature to devote 20 million dollars to fight the Depression and create a an agency to distribute the funds (TERA); start of New Deal (although it was not called that yet).
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Was elected as the Democratic Presidential nominee.
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Was elected as the President of the US. His landslide victory was in part due to Herbert Hoover's mismanagement of the Depression. -
Giuseppe Zangara attempted to shoot FDR; he missed and instead killed Chicago mayor Anton Cermak. -
Created national bank holiday, passed Emergency Banking Act, and created National Recovery Administration; stock prices rose 15% in one day when the New York Stock Exchange reopened. Gold standard was also abolished
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Passed Agricultural Adjustment Administration, created Civilian Conservation Corps, Federal Emergency Relief Agency, Public Works Administration, and various other bills/organizations to create jobs and improve infrastructure.
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Created Social Security system, Works Progress Administration, Rural Electrification Administration, and Wagner Labor Relations Act to create more job opportunities and improve infrastructure.
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FDR was reelected as President. He was nominated as the Democratic candidate partly due to the assassination of rival Huey Long.
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Supreme Court had been against many New Deal policies; FDR tried to dilute their power by adding six additional justices. He failed but ended up replacing most of the justices.
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Passed the Neutrality Act, allowing the US to trade with nations at war (Great Britain and France).
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Japan bombed the US ship Panay. They claimed it was an accident, and FDR decided not to go to war. -
Physicists Leo Szilard and Albert Einstein warned FDR of the possibility that Germany might create an atomic bomb. FDR authorized preliminary US nuclear research.
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Was elected for a third term as President. He felt that it was his responsibility to get the US through these times of international unrest.
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Passed Executive Order 8802, banning discrimination in the government because of "“race, creed, color, or national origin,”. This is significant as FDR had not yet made any civil rights reforms.
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FDR's mother died of cardiovascular failure. -
Japan had joined the Axis Powers and invaded Southeast Asia. The US cut off oil to Japan in response. Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in retaliation to the embargo. The next day, the US declared war on Japan and entered the war. -
26 countries, including the US, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and China, agreed to enter an alliance to defeat the Axis Powers; called
the United Nations. -
Authorized research that aimed to create atomic weapons.
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Passed Executive Order 9066; US citizens of Japanese descent were forcibly removed from the Pacific coast.
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Authorized Allied invasion of North Africa.
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FDR met with Winston Churchill to discuss various war plans, including the Allied invasion of Sicily. It was agreed that the Allies would invade France on May 1, 1944. -
FDR met with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. The Allied invasion of France was approved.
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Appointed Dwight D. Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander, putting him in charge of the Allied invasion of France. -
Due to the weather, Eisenhower decided to commence the invasion slightly later than originally planned. -
Was reelected for a fourth term as President. He set a record for longest time in office. -
Met with Churchill and Stalin to discuss postwar actions. The occupation of Germany and the long-term survival of the UN were discussed. -
FDR's health had been declining for several years. He died due to a cerebral hemorrhage.